The Saturday ONT is going back to the 80s [Weirddave]

Climb aboard folks! We're going back to the era of feathery hair and leg warmers, of Reaganomics and the end of the cold war. Fasten your seatbelt, 'cuz when this baby hits 88 MPH....you're gonna see some serious shit.

First thing we need is a time machine. There have been rumors and rumors of rumors about someone coming out with a brand new DeLorean, supposedly next year. I haven't been able to find anything concrete, but there is lots of concept art online. I liked this one:

But it turns out that it's not a DeLorean concept at all, it's the De Tomaso Mangusta concept car from about 5 years ago. Pity, it does look like a modern DeLorean.

Turns out, however, that you can buy a “new” DeLorean from a place down in Houston.

99.2% factory original parts. I hope the .8% that's not is the crappy Renault engine. I have a Renault diesel engine in my sailboat. It......runs.

Hot Hatches

Speaking of cars, the 80s were the era of the hot hatchback. The VW GTI was the quintessential hot hatch, but there were also RX-7s and other contenders for the title. My first car was a VW Scirocco. Not as boxy as the GTI, I loved its angular lines(the Mk1 Sciroccos. The Mk 2s got curvy in 1982). I put GTI rims and Pirelli rubber on that car, and it went around corners like it was on rails. I still think the look holds up today.

Big Hair

The whale spout. The side tail. Permed, crimped, puffed, fluffed and feathered. You can see them all here. The 80s were definitely a decade that should be remembered for hair. Don't look too smug men, we had mullets and spikes, mohawks and rat tails. I don't think anyone acquitted themselves well hair-wise in the 80s, but I have to say, sometimes when I see a movie from the era, I thing to myself “Boy, that looks HOT!”. I guess that's the price I pay for going to high school in the 80s. The standards of beauty at the time were imprinted on my brain as “attractive”.

You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have...
hair. Lots and lots of hair.

Video Games

Now we're talking. I tell you, if I had a quarter for every video game I played in the 80s, I'd have.....all my money back, actually.

“Coin detected in pocket”

Berserk. Defender. Pac Man. Ms. Pac Man. Asteroids. Mappy. Paperboy. Battlezone. Man, I played them all, but the one game I was particularly good at was Joust. When the game came out, players soon discovered a method for “hunting” pterodactyls, which allowed you to play forever. Williams soon came out with a fix, but if you found an original machine, you could roll it over as many times as you wanted. I did this for 6 hours on 1 quarter once.

What were your favorites?

Home Computers

The popularity of video games was at least partially responsible for driving the home computer revolution. We went nuts over less RAM than we have in our watches today. I first went onto the World Wide Web in the early 90s, using an Atari ST series computer. One of these, actually.

I'd laugh at it today. Laugh. But it was revolutionary at the time, and in a very real way, those first tentative online contacts are what led all of us here today.

I Love the 80s!

Ther's so much more. You could do an entire series on the pop culture of the 80s. In fact, VH1 did. Twice. They're all available on YouTube.

Watch them all here. Accompanied by "riveting" commentary from "stars" who aspire to be D list, it's a fun walk down memory lane.

We haven't even touched on TV, movies, music or politics. Maybe for a future ONT. I'm sorry tonight's thread is so short, I forgot we had a dinner engagement and ran out of time.

8
IBM PC Jr.
Bought it when I got back from Turkey.
The'80s. When Turkey was a good tour.

Posted by: Diogenes at August 20, 2016 10:19 PM (0tfLf)

9
Re: fun cars, interested hoard members should look into 1999-2004 Porsche 911s. The headlights look exactly like a boxter's, so the purists hate them and you can pick up low mileage ones for a steal, but behind the wheel they're all 911. Just fix that IMS bearing!

Posted by: major major major major at August 20, 2016 10:19 PM (igm64)

35
Second the Tempest call. I was a little young, but my older brother could spend hours, and I could spend hours watching him, on Tempest. GREAT game.

Posted by: Patrick at August 20, 2016 10:28 PM (klmXw)

36
My first major computer game was Moria (I don't know if that was the actual name though). I never finished it, but John defeated the Balrog at some point. Trying to find an RPG that combined Moria's infinite replayability with better graphics, but no nudity and not too much gore (kids watching you know) became a lifelong quest (yes, my life is wonderfully boring).

Those TV ads for Froot Loops were messed up. I mean, unsupervised children wandering around the rain forest looking for breakfast. Toucan Sam helped them out, so it all turned out all right - but what the hell?

Posted by: FireHorse at August 20, 2016 10:31 PM (tWpnH)

42
Stylistically only Mel Gibson came out of the 80's with his dignity in tact.

He paid the price later.

Posted by: eleven at August 20, 2016 10:31 PM (qUNWi)

43
I loved Battlezone. Red Baron seemed so much cooler, but you couldn't find it anywhere.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at August 20, 2016 10:32 PM (GdFQh)

44
What ever happened to the video games made for PC's by the company Seirra? Kings Quest.
-------------------

Sierra sold themselves to Vivendi, which kept them around for a while before finally folding the company (as inevitably happens with every last software developer that lets itself get bought). I think you can still find a Kings Quest collection, though.

As for me -

First computer was an Atari 800. I grew up playing Star Raiders, which was the very first space combat sim, and had amazingly good graphics for a computer with only 48KB of RAM.

I have good memories of the '80s. Sometimes I wonder if some of the good memories of the '80s are from the positive attitude that Reagan helped give the country when he was our president?

Funny thing is, I saw the comment, knew that Al Gore was supposed to be the person making it, and didn't bother to check the sig.

Only reason I know you screwed up is because you announced it to everyone.

Posted by: junior at August 20, 2016 10:36 PM (HNYxZ)

61Those TV ads for Froot Loops were messed up. I mean, unsupervised children wandering around the rain forest looking for breakfast. Toucan Sam helped them out, so it all turned out all right - but what the hell?

74Now we're talking. I tell you, if I had a quarter for every video game I played in the 80s, I'd have.....all my money back, actually.

A friend and I were going to the local multi-plex theatre to play some games one time. Repair guy is fixing the Smash-TV machine. He looks at us and asks, "You guys going to play this one?"

We said yes. He opened up the coin panel again and pressed down a button. The machine registered "99 credits."

He said, "There you go," and walked away.

Best day evah.

BIG MONEY. BIG PRIZES. OH YEAH!!!

Posted by: weft cut-loop at August 20, 2016 10:39 PM (V3IFq)

75
Does anyone remember Missile Command ? That was parked in the corner at the local bar all through the early '80's and I was an addict. I now realize that big ball you used to line up the shots was actually an ancestor of the computer mouse....

Wide-wale corduroy and a long-sleeved polyester pullover shirt with all the buttons unbuttoned....

Posted by: cthulhu at August 20, 2016 10:40 PM (EzgxV)

78
I miss the heyday of the video arcade. Lasted into the nineties but faded out with the ubiquity of gaming consoles.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 20, 2016 10:40 PM (0mRoj)

79
Nissan really blew their chances with the B15 Sentra. The one I am talking about is from 2000 to 2001. It is the SE with performance package and it had everything but horsepower. The brakes and suspension were excellent. All they needed to do was add a turbo, but they chose not to do this for some retarded reason. As a result it was overlooked at a time where the hot compact import market was on fire.

88The popularity of video games was at least partially responsible for driving the home computer revolution. We went nuts over less RAM than we have in our watches today. [ . . . ]

I'd laugh at it today. Laugh. But it was revolutionary at the time, and in a very real way, those first tentative online contacts are what led all of us here today.

There is a pretty cool show on AMC returning for Season 3 this coming Tuesday. Halt and Catch Fire. Takes place during this 1980s era when they were developing the PC and laptop. Pretty good tech nerd drama.

I bought a Levi's jacket that had some kink of rocky material in the chest pockets.

Posted by: BignJames at August 20, 2016 10:43 PM (+q52R)

90
Peak 80s Christmas: getting a ColecoVision console so I could finally play video games at home. Parents got me a separate TV so I didn't burn an image onto theirs. Zaxxon, Turbo (with the add-on steering wheel and gas pedal), Donkey Kong - many brain cells died and mediocre grades achieved accordingly.

Posted by: PabloD at August 20, 2016 10:43 PM (mEbam)

91
I loved the 80s. That's when I went to college, moved 3000 miles from home, and met and married my husband. I loved the clothes ( which look funny now), and having naturally big hair, was thrilled that I could finally be in style, hair wise. I could never do the long straight parted in the middle Marcia Brady hair, though I desperately wanted it.

Posted by: bluebell at August 20, 2016 10:44 PM (D63C/)

92
In the 80s I sold CPM computers like Kaypro and Eagle, Apple IIs, and later the original Mac and IBM PC. The Space Shuttle simulator on the first Mac was the coolest thing ever.

I remember selling PC-ATs for $5000 and then a few years later selling them used for $100. Back then we would actually do things like replace flybacks and components on boards.

Posted by: freaked at August 20, 2016 10:44 PM (BO/km)

93
Enidine no longer makes the ITT Shot shock for shotguns. Here is the who makes it now:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/hk4ujuj

95
63 If you're nostalgic for the 80s check out "Stranger Things" on Netflix. That show is pure awesome.
Posted by: loginon at August 20, 2016 10:37 PM (42lnL)

Yes. Yes it is.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 20, 2016 10:45 PM (0mRoj)

96
Lets keep this in perspective Matt.... Brian Williams still works for your network.

Posted by: Ran Lochte at August 20, 2016 10:45 PM (1Mft0)

97
84
Wide-wale corduroy and a long-sleeved polyester pullover shirt with all the buttons unbuttoned....

Posted by: cthulhu at August 20, 2016 10:40 PM

Stylin' man! I bet you pulled the chicks.

Posted by: otho at August 20, 2016 10:41 PM (EWg9n)

Actually didn't do too badly....for a cephalopod-headed transdimensional monstrosity not in Japan.

Posted by: cthulhu at August 20, 2016 10:45 PM (EzgxV)

98
Re: fun cars, interested hoard members should look into 1999-2004 Porsche 911s. The headlights look exactly like a boxter's, so the purists hate them and you can pick up low mileage ones for a steal, but behind the wheel they're all 911. Just fix that IMS bearing!

Posted by: major major major major at August 20, 2016 10:19 PM (igm64)

911 Porsches. I was once working in an independent shop that did VW repairs and service. 1980-something. A customer bought in '60's-vintage 911 for a tuneup. And they gave the job to me. I got the books out, and spent a lot time fussing with it to get the Weber carbs balanced. Took it for a short test drive, and it was really fast, but it didn't make me want to own one.

Bonus. The customer came back, and said he was really pleased with the tuneup, and that it was so rare to get it done right.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 20, 2016 10:46 PM (oqkO3)

99
My first job after College was renting out dual floppy IBM PCs and 10MB HD XT machines. ATs came along shortly thereafter.

Posted by: ManWithNoParty at August 20, 2016 10:46 PM (beFCa)

100
Whew i spent the end of the eighties into the nineties pregnant , nursing. Maybe it Was the big hair lol

106
I grew up in the decade of arcade games. My best friend even had the record about video games.
I played two of the three Tron games, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Robo-Tron, Pac Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Defender, Zaxxon, Joust, Berzerk, Centipede, Gorf, and several others.

It's why I know no 90s music to speak of. I was always listening to Barney tapes, or Raffi, or Wee Sing.

Posted by: bluebell at August 20, 2016 10:49 PM (D63C/)

10975 Does anyone remember Missile Command ? That was parked in the corner at the local bar all through the early '80's and I was an addict. I now realize that big ball you used to line up the shots was actually an ancestor of the computer mouse....
Posted by: JoeF. at August 20, 2016 10:39 PM (8HGb7)

Yup. Loved that game. I have it on tablet now, but it's just not the same without that big, heavy trackball. I got pretty good at using the momentum of the ball to head toward my next aiming point, and at getting maximum use out of those side missile turrets, to save the crucial center ones.

Posted by: Splunge at August 20, 2016 10:49 PM (iMxBJ)

110
What about MTV and MTV cops, aka Miami Vice? We had great football and the NBA was fantastic with Beat LA, Boston and Philly. The Gipper was in the White House and it was not for sale, and Bloom County was funny, before Breathed's anger made him sound just like SJW. Tina Turner was strutting her stuff and Bruce Springsteen went commercial. I loved the Go Go 80's when Robert Bartley was rocking the OP ED page at what was the World's Greatest Capitalist Newspaper, the WSJ. And a harmless little fuzzball made his debut and grew into the Mr. Big of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Those Were The Days My Friend, we thought they'd never end, we sing and dance forever and a day, We'd live the life we choose, We'd fight and never lose, For we were young and sure to have our way.

Posted by: Locke Common at August 20, 2016 10:49 PM (I6Am+)

111
The 80's made me wear stone washed jeans and a Members only jacket.
Posted by: eleven
-----------------
Did you also cuff the jeans tightly around your ankles?

Lotsa great content up there to soak in. This will take a while...
But, Joust was The Shit. I had high score at the bowling alley forever.

113
I was a freshman in HS during the 1980 Winter Games and a few months before, my family was among the first on our block to get a VHS recorder for Christmas.

I taped the miracle game vs the Soviets, and for weeks after the Olympics were over I rode my bike home from school at lunch (try doing that today do they even allow open campuses anymore) to watch it over and over again every day.

Probably my all time favorite sports memory.

Actually, not probably but unquestionably, & certainly so in my yoot.

Rams finally winning the Super Bowl is 1A, but that came to me much later in adulthood.

115
I never played arcade games in the '70s or '80s. And not that it influenced me because he told me the anecdote well into the arcade mania but a friend told me about a friend of his who would always toss a quarter into the arcade place when they walked by and announce something like, "I only lose one quarter doing it this way."

My dad the P. Eng. had a TRS-80 that he eventually got a wargame for (Waterloo; where you were acting as a single(!) cannon commander shooting at advancing rows of very-pixilated French soldiers) but I only played it a couple of times. I can't recall why but probably because I preferred reading and TV to playing it.

A friend had a coding-cracked version of the original Civilization that I only played one full game of and then two partial games as it kept on freezing up. Probably my p.c.'s fault due to lack of Ram or the like.

It killed me that phalanxes in defensive mode on hills could beat modern tank units in combat.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 20, 2016 10:50 PM (LdMbv)

116
Wish we could go back to the '80's politically. Yeah, The Soviets would be back. But so would Reagan--or as the lefties used to say "RayGun".

Posted by: JoeF. at August 20, 2016 10:50 PM (8HGb7)

117
75 Does anyone remember Missile Command ? That was parked in the corner at the local bar all through the early '80's and I was an addict. I now realize that big ball you used to line up the shots was actually an ancestor of the computer mouse....
Posted by: JoeF
****

I do. That was a tough game.
Loved me some space invaders on the 2600 tho.

As to the Scirocco - oye. I went to test drive one in '78 / '79 only to run into the worst salesman ever. As I'm a tall gent, I asked the rep how to put the seats back. His reply was that the car was made for people 5'10" and shorter and that I was not the target driver (as I'm 6'3").

Fast forward a few years to find that I'm a passenger in a Scirocco and that the seats adjusted just fine for a person of my proportions.

That dummy salesman probably saved my life though, as I would have driven the hell out of that beast.

Posted by: browndog at August 20, 2016 10:51 PM (ccfl2)

121
Blue bell. I know, i wore children in backpacks to work . i never watched tv or movies that wasn't disney

123
I still have a couple of posters. One of the Macintosh office showing a Mac, a Lisa, an external 10Mb hard drive, and a LaserWriter printer all hooked together thru AppleTalk.

The other is a poster of an IBM PS/2 Model 50 being hawked by Jamie Farr. That would have been about 1987. We sold a ton of those things. First PCs with 3.5" drives, PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors (no more serial mice) and analog video (VGA).

Posted by: freaked at August 20, 2016 10:53 PM (BO/km)

124
I'm definitely nostalgic for the '80s. Grew up during the '80s. 1980 to 1989, I was age 4 to age 13. I remember...

the '83 Winnin' Ugly White Sox (Ron Kittle, Greg Luzinski, Pudge Fisk, Harold Baines), the heartbreak of the '84 Cubs (damn you Steve Garvey!), my sports idol Ryne Sandberg, the '85 Bears, the heartbreak of the '89 Cubs (damn you Will Clark!), the excitement and frustration of the beginning of the Michael Jordan era (remember listening to his 63pts vs Celtics on the radio in the car on the way to Grandma's house for some occasion or another, remember the frustration of the Bad Boy Pistons)...

The Wonder Years (Kevin Arnold was the same age as me, so felt like I was growing up with him; TV show spoke to me, even though it was about growing up in a different era), Growing Pains, The Cosby Show, Family Ties were my favorite shows.

Ah, the memories...

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at August 20, 2016 10:53 PM (7A4qQ)

125
Our first was born in '81. The twins a few years later. Much of the decade was spent at home. Some of it's a blur. Landlording in Chicago - tales I could tell!

Not much into video games, but spent a lot of time on CompuServe, first on the Radio Shack Model I and then on the PC-AT.

I remember somewhere in there was a comic book explosion, lots of independents, small companies, and even the big 2 had some good stuff. Until the kids got expensive, I bought almost everything. It's all in long boxes down in the catacombs.

And disco gave way to actual music again. I remember that.

But mostly, diapers and high chairs, and eventually swimming lessons and pushing bicycles until they learned.

128I bought a Levi's jacket that had some kink of rocky material in the chest pockets.
Posted by: BignJames at August 20, 2016 10:43 PM (+q52R)
---
Woohoo! The 80's were epic! The clothes came off the hanger pre-coked!

130
That original IBM PC was an event so momentous that it is hard to imagine these days. Finally, a standard. It was clunky, expensive, and kind of awesome for the time. And yet it was a blip on IBM's radar. I remember reading their annual report, the year it came out, curious to see how they regarded their triumph of instant success in the PC market.

It was mentioned in one line in a long report. IIRC that line was "we are also very pleased with the success of the IBM PC."

136
AOP in the early 80s after college and before I got into the computer business I worked for a Porsche specialist in Atlanta. He also had a Porsche wrecking yard. The owner traveled all over buying wrecked Porsches to part out. That was where I started, disassembling wrecked Porsches, and the later moved up to the service dept up front.

I wish sometimes I had stayed on that career path, but you never know where life will take you.

154119 Speaking of 80's nostalgia, I've been binge-watching Halt and Catch Fire on AMC. Great series. Can't wait for season three to start next week.

And Lee Pace has 80's-worthy caterpillar brows.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at August 20, 2016 10:51 PM

I've been doing the same the last couple days. DVR set to record all episodes and AMC I think re-aired all of seasons 1 and 2 this week. So I have something like 14 episodes left to get through. I'm at the one right after Gordon Clark snuck back into Cardiff to steal The Giant to bring to COMDEX.

Scoot McNairy and Kerry Bishé have good chemistry. They portrayed married couple Joe and Kathy Stafford in Argo and are married in HaCF as well. Something about Bishe, just has a great combination of girl next door, classy and sexy. Lee Pace (only knew of him as Thranduil in The Hobbit movies) is great as Joe MacMillan.

171
I spent much of the 80's in Japan where every day a new weird appeared. Found a hippie surfer pizza shack in Marugami that had Budweiser. "You rike Beach Boys?"
There were vending machines that delivered a Kirin beer at any time of day or night. Had a blast and built some drilling rigs.

Posted by: Dave at Buffalo Roam at August 20, 2016 11:07 PM (d/9qZ)

172
166 147 My fiance is demanding I go watch Keanu with her, so be back in a while.
Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale-Skeet Surfer
------------------
If it's Speed or Point Break, we'll allow it.
Posted by: Chi at August 20, 2016 11:06 PM (+r5OR)
---
John Wick is also acceptable.

173
Remember the fall of the wall -saw that live on tv - and my jaw dropped, and my mother wept. The solid fact of the iron curtain dissolved under ten thousand hammer blows live on TV. The poverty and desperation of the people on the other side was depressing.

174
GGE,
Yes I do! I'll never give up my Stang. I do have to replace the rack of motors underneath the driver's seat to the tune of 5 bills but that's okay. I've racked up about 67k miles on her.
Still my pride and joy.

Loving life! Mine needs a top, the back window fell out of it and I siliconed it back in but it looks like crap (doesn't leak any more though). Two grand for that, so it's gonna have to wait a while. I have a squeak in the right rear brake that I'm working on as well, I got a brake caliper bracket for it that I'm going to try first.Mrs Hades goes back to work next week, she's not too excited about that, and my work schedule is about to change again. That's life I guess.

186
Uncle Palp, the wall started coming down shortly before my wedding. We altered our honeymoon plans do we could have a couple days in West Berlin, staying with my parents' friends. Borrowed their hammers and chisels and went down there with the multitudes. All I could get were little pebbles, but my husband was able to hack off huge chunks. It was amazing.

Posted by: bluebell at August 20, 2016 11:15 PM (D63C/)

187
I never watched the Cosby show despite my being a fan of his standup.

Was it on Thursday nights up against Cheers or the like? I can't recall although I see at IMDB that their runs did overlap with Cheers getting the head-start.

And I was a huge Married... With Children fan; hated it when Fox Entertainment began screwing them around in their last 2 seasons or so.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 20, 2016 11:15 PM (LdMbv)

188
The Mustang, Charger, Challenger and Beetle are back, why not the CRX???

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:02 PM (OKox0)

They could rename it "Honda CRS" and sell it to all their old CRX buyers who now have Alzheimers.

192
I was 11 in 1980 and 20 in 1989, beginning my second year in the USAF. I was stationed in the middle of a cornfield in Nebraska (A HF Comm site). I think I played The Cult-Sonic Temple in my car that entire year.

193 I wore the same style clothes in the 89's as now--sweatshirt, jeans and boots.

Dress up is loafers instead of boots.

Posted by: irongrampa at August 20, 2016 11:16 PM (X35Yt)

194
All I could get were little pebbles, but my husband was able to hack off huge chunks. It was amazing.

Posted by: bluebell at August 20, 2016 11:15 PM (D63C/)

I was on Forrestal (CV-59) in the Med. George HW Bush brought us a chunk of the wall (he was in Malta conferring with the godless Commies at the time). Our next port of call was Naples where we drank the entire stock of Jaegermeister out. Can't stand the smell of that shit to this day, but the hangover was epic.

200
andycanuck, The Cosby Show was part of NBC's legendary Thursday night lineup of the 1980s. As I recall it was 8:00, Cosby; 8:30, Family Ties; 9:00, Cheers; and 9:30, Night Court.

Those shows, along with Hill Street Blues (10:00), literally saved that network. I still remember how before Hill Street Blues showed up, the common knowledge on the street was that NBC would be bankrupt before long.

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:19 PM (OKox0)

201I was stationed in the middle of a cornfield in Nebraska (A HF Comm site).

If it was anywhere near a certain SAC base I grew up about 70 miles to the east and a little bit south of there.

Nancy has a rep today as kind of a bitch as I remember reading about 10 years ago, the Facts Of Life cast wanted to do a reunion show; but Nancy refused to have anything to do with it, despite her total lack of success after the show ended.

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:21 PM (OKox0)

210
The character's name was Jo, I think.
Posted by: publius
----------
Tommy from Mel's Diner was her brother IRL.

Posted by: Chi at August 20, 2016 11:21 PM (+r5OR)

211So, anyone have a theory on why Trump is doing so little tv advertising and has made no ad buys in October?

About 12 years ago I edited out George with my name and had that time for my voicemail for several years. People would call and tell me they were calling my voicemail and not me because it made them happy.

230
George Costanza, my sis and bro-in-law are the yuge Seinfeld fans in my family. I liked the show, but most of the episodes have long since left my memory.

With two exceptions: one where George is reamed by a boss "I'm the kind of person who is and always will be a success, and you're the kind of person who will never be a success." *And,* the one where they wait forever for seats at a Chinese restaurant and have to deal with a reality-denying maitre'd.

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:27 PM (OKox0)

231
I was in a dorm room with friends watching when Team USA scored that final goal. I jumped so high I almost hit the ceiling. (Actually, my hair probably did hit the ceiling.)

My friend had to go to the bathroom and held it until she couldn't any more - so she was in the can when they won. I think she's still mad at her bladder.

233
I got "The Day After" on DVD. Terrifying and realistic. None of that nuclear-winter bullshit, if America gets nuked we're all just going to die horrible deaths from radiation and societal collapse.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 20, 2016 11:28 PM (6FqZa)

234
Stranger Things! Three people mentioned it to me independently of one another yesterday... Red Letter Media did a review of it even though it's TV, and now here. I guess that's capital B buzz.

I remember for its first year I watched Sledge Hammer! instead of Cosby; but I can't recall what I would have watched instead in later years.

I agreed with the Sledge actor (David Rasche) who said people were watching Cosby live but were all VCRing his show because everyone in the street was always saying, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing," to him!

Posted by: andycanuck at August 20, 2016 11:29 PM (LdMbv)

237
bth, I had The Day After on DVD too but stupid me sold it. Agreed it's great, and the filmmakers were smart enough to keep from getting too political and/or anti-Reagan in the flick.

Now I want to buy it back, but it's going only for big bucks at Amazon. Hopefully it'll come to blu-ray before too long...

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:29 PM (OKox0)

238
How about some of those old TI games? Munchman, Hunt the Wumpus, and Parsec.
Good times.

244
233 I got "The Day After" on DVD. Terrifying and realistic. None of that nuclear-winter bullshit, if America gets nuked we're all just going to die horrible deaths from radiation and societal collapse.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 20, 2016 11:28 PM (6FqZa)

I got that same feeling after reading "One Second After". At least after the nuking you have the option of dying quickly from radiation, with an EMP attack that successfully cuts off the power, you die from privation and lack of medicine. Oh, and your fellow citizens a few towns and states over become marauders and pillagers due to their drive to survive.

Posted by: Thrawn at August 20, 2016 11:31 PM (cC/ZB)

245
I sucked at Joust. The game I excelled at was Tempest.
Posted by: Captain Whitebread at August 20, 2016 10:19 PM (rJUlF)

251
My first computer was an Atari 400, with a whopping 16K of memory & cassette tape for mass storage. Upgraded it to 48K RAM and an 88K floppy. I sold my row-boat to pay for the system. Then I sold the Atari and bought a stereo, because that was more useful in college.

You'll note the author's take at what "evil conservatives" would do if faced with the need for an insurgency reads like my posts on the War College making the GOP the Red Team back in 2012 look prescient.

When you win you are generous to the captured and remind the "blue team" "I *am not* your enemy."

Posted by: Make America Great Again at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (BS8yt)

271
41 Those TV ads for Froot Loops were messed up. I mean, unsupervised
children wandering around the rain forest looking for breakfast. Toucan
Sam helped them out, so it all turned out all right - but what the hell?

The best one was the one in which Toucan Sam had "free froot loops" painted on his van.

Posted by: Anachronda at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (Oi5b2)

272
I loved 80's clothes because they suited my body. I had a small waist then and so could pull off the big belts. Big shirt, big belt, long flowing skirts and boots, big jewelry - that was pretty much my 80's look.

in the late 70s, I was big into the Annie Hall look, in part because it was cheap - my boyfriends old skirts, my dads ties....

publius, yup. As I understand it a lot of folks still treat Matt LeBlanc like he's a dummy, because of his character on Friends. Gotta be annoying for him. And yeah, funny what sticks in your brain and what doesn't.

He is a great actor, he was also in "United 93" and now is appearing in the TV Land series "Impastor."

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:30 PM (OKox0)

He used to frequent my old Saturday morning hangout in Santa Barbara, Esau's Cafe. Nice guy. Really popular with the wait staff.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (LuZz8)

275
The 80s were not a very good time for Pittsburgh pro teams. The Steelers were suffering from a hangover from dominating the previous decade. The Pirates limped around a bit until some rookies started panning out; a young Barry Bonds was impressive but still an asshole. I remember when the guy who played the Pirate Parrot got arrested for dealing drugs in a restroom. Willie Stargell retired. Still my favorite baseball player. The Pens were horrible until about 85 or so. Some guy named Mario Lemieux got drafted and things got better, eventually. They still couldn't beat the fucking Flyers in Philly till 1989. The Spectrum was not a fun place for the Pens.

277
Those TV ads for Froot Loops were messed up. I mean, unsupervised
children wandering around the rain forest looking for breakfast. Toucan
Sam helped them out, so it all turned out all right - but what the hell?

The best one was the one in which Toucan Sam had "free froot loops" painted on his van.

Posted by: Anachronda at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (Oi5b2)

Hundred times worse were the trix commercials. The naughty children saying, "Silly rabbit, trixs are for whores!"

Posted by: StrawMan at August 20, 2016 11:44 PM (lidp8)

278237 bth, I had The Day After on DVD too but stupid me sold it. Agreed it's great, and the filmmakers were smart enough to keep from getting too political and/or anti-Reagan in the flick.
Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:29 PM (OKox0)

Wait. Is that the movie that ended with people in the nuclear devastation turning on their radio, only to hear a Reagan-like voice saying something like "the important thing is that we are still upholding the PRINCIPLES..." If so, I certainly took it at the time as a heavy shot at Reagan, in typical Progressive/left fashion. You could almost hear the screeched "What do PRINCIPLES matter when we face the EXTINCTION of LIFE on EARTH if we don't knuckle under to the Sovs?!??"

Kinda sad how that ended up: a mentally ill man, whose last name actually *was* Noid, took hostage some workers at a Domino's franchise; he thought the ads were making fun of him personally.

Apparently he never got the help he needed either, because a few years later he killed himself.

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:45 PM (OKox0)

282
I wonder if the next use of atomics/nukes will be a big one? I think tactical use makes a lot more sense, amd would tend to tamp down the city-incineration by way of retaliation. Sounds weird, but a rational actor can use nukes without triggering to end of civilization

Got fired (quit, actually) from a job after we'd installed that game on one of the IBM AT machines, and then deleted it, but the folder was still on the machine and the dyke boss found it...
Posted by: AshevilleRobert at August 20, 2016 11:39 PM (w+

That game caused many a headaches for parents in our neighborhood.

Posted by: Cactus of Liberty at August 20, 2016 11:45 PM (UwRDM)

284When door to door today for the Republican Party. Went well.
Posted by: Make America Great Again at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (BS8yt)
-------------------

Ooh, I was hoping you'd come back and let us know. Details, details. Tell us more.

290
The 80's had great movies or maybe it's just that I remember them that way since I was young. Hollywood seemed to have original ideas at that time.

Posted by: Joe Hallenbeck at August 20, 2016 11:47 PM (MNgU2)

291
282 I wonder if the next use of atomics/nukes will be a big one? I think tactical use makes a lot more sense, amd would tend to tamp down the city-incineration by way of retaliation. Sounds weird, but a rational actor can use nukes without triggering to end of civilization
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at August 20, 2016 11:45 PM (2j2i4)

293 In 1982 a crack team of home computer geeks were sentenced to lonely lives for crimes they didn't commit. These geeks promptly escaped from their mom's basement and into the alternative blogosphere. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as cobloggers of misfortune. If you have a problem and no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire....

296
Re: 80s hair. I think I tried for the hot roller look. But it never really came out like that. I also wish I had back all the money I spent on video games. The other day I was looking at Google maps at the place I lived after college and it made me so nostalgic for the 80s that I had to stop. Weird. I hate getting nostalgic. Waste of time...

Posted by: sinalco at August 20, 2016 11:49 PM (yODqO)

297
Sounds weird, but a rational actor can use nukes without triggering to end of civilization
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine
----------

298
When door to door today for the Republican Party. Went well.
Posted by: Make America Great Again
---------------
It wouldn't have gone so well if you came to my door.
F "the party."

Posted by: Chi at August 20, 2016 11:50 PM (+r5OR)

299294 Splunge, I just figured it for politician blather, like when Barky and Ryan lecture us about our Values and on what is or is not Who We Are.
Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 20, 2016 11:48 PM (6FqZa)

Sure. In another context, I would have too. But in the midst of nuclear devastation, I took it for something else, a portrayal of a completely out-of-touch faux pas. I admit I only saw the film once, so my memory may be faulty.

Posted by: Splunge at August 20, 2016 11:50 PM (iMxBJ)

300
seems like a good ONT for the Fixx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXfc7VMyj94

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 20, 2016 11:50 PM (6FqZa)

301
Ah.. 80s TV shows. The decade when Mike Post wrote almost every theme song

307
302 285: lol, I had a good laugh picturing the dude in a skirt. he didn't have the legs for it
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V. (Brandishing ampersands) at August 20, 2016 11:51 PM (P8951)

Its a kilt damnit!

Posted by: AngryScotsman at August 20, 2016 11:53 PM (lidp8)

308
As good as I think the movies were in the 80's I thought the TV shows not very good. I think Cheers was the only one I remember liking . Night Court and WKRP were okay but I have no desire to see them now.

315
Chemjeff- I think you posted once you went to Carnegie Mellon? Thats a rather high end school that (at least used too) have pretty rigorous academics. Even had a decent football team. And expensive.

321
today for the Republican Party. Went well.
Posted by: Make America Great Again at August 20, 2016 11:42 PM (BS8yt)

Good for you . I've done the political door-knocking thing before, and it can be a little scary.

Posted by: Bernette at August 20, 2016 11:57 PM (3LwCF)

322
I kept a cute little 'Noid' (Dominos Pizza) figurine on my dashboard for years... it went with the car, lol.

The 80s... when everybody came out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWsUzVgHZ8k

Posted by: JQ Flyover at August 20, 2016 11:57 PM (044Fx)

323
And of course who could forget the beautiful Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, of Fletch fame, whose hair you have so nicely showcased for us.

Always had such a crush on her.

Posted by: Sharkman at August 20, 2016 11:58 PM (P8jrK)

324
I still remember Night Court being one of the all-time raunchiest TV sitcoms ever.

From an episode where Dan (the sleazy DA played by John Larroquette) is in jeopardy of being drafted for some reason: "I will wet every bed from here to Fort Dix!!" ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 20, 2016 11:59 PM (OKox0)

325
The app was pretty good identified the person whether Dem, Swing voter or Repub and how many times they voted in the past 4 elections. There was some additional data I couldn't see that marked them as potential Repub voters with a little encouragement.

The Repub operative said the dems are still using paper and that they are behind in this part of the GOTV.

Posted by: Make America Great Again at August 20, 2016 11:59 PM (BS8yt)

331
80's were a time of playing Bouree' and intense late night games of Risk that usually led to real conflict. Ordering Dominos during this time was also quite frequent. I don't know how I got through college.

Posted by: Joe Hallenbeck at August 21, 2016 12:01 AM (MNgU2)

332
I kept a cute little 'Noid' (Dominos Pizza) figurine on my dashboard for years... it went with the car, lol.

I had a friend who collected all those stupid raisin men from the California raisin commercials and put them on his dash. Someone stole a couple. Pretty pathetic when you are swiping raisin men.

334
"My parents got it for me when it first came out. I
think they were already tired of me asking, "how do you build a clock,
dad?" whenever I wanted to know what time it was.

Posted by: cthulhu"

Mine bought me a series of books called "Tell me Why".

Posted by: AshevilleRobert at August 21, 2016 12:02 AM (w+Jhj)

335As good as I think the movies were in the 80's I thought the TV shows
not very good. I think Cheers was the only one I remember liking .
Night Court and WKRP were okay but I have no desire to see them now.

Yea. I remember Bosom Buddies being funny. I recently watched an episode and it was utter drek.

Strangely enough, Barney Miller too. I can see why I liked it, and why it was such a good show in its time, but the entire...mileau of the show was off to me. Offensive.The way they treated a woman who was being beaten by her husband was....not funny. I know cops make horrible jokes as a defense against the shit they have to deal with, but it just didn't translate to a sit com for my modern ears.

Strangely enough, I think I would be less bothered by real cops making crass jokes at the expense of a real battered woman in real life than I was about the fake cops making he same jokes about an imaginary woman. Which is really strange. I'm still pondering it.

Posted by: Weirddave at August 21, 2016 12:02 AM (N8hFs)

336
There were some fine gay anthems that decade. Hard to choose between Relax, Tainted Love, or that boom boom boom let's go back to my room song for what's the cheesiest.

I think the Pet Shop Boys played it about right. Tried at least to be a little subtle about it.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 21, 2016 12:03 AM (6FqZa)

337
I kept a cute little 'Noid' (Dominos Pizza) figurine on my dashboard for years... it went with the car, lol.
------------

Heh. I had a complete set of the California Raisins. My house was burglarized and, weirdly, the SOB(s) took them.

341Weird. I hate getting nostalgic.The original ancient Greek usage meant homesickness and longing for the past as a form of mental illness. While checking that fact out, one source said in English it continued meaning a mental illness until the common usage changed by 1920 to the usual meaning of today as fondly recalling the past.

And I only know that because a conservative blog or online magazine had a column that explained that while making whatever its main point was.

Posted by: andycanuck at August 21, 2016 12:05 AM (LdMbv)

342
264
Phoebe Cates coming out of the swimming pool scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High

347As good as I think the movies were in the 80's I thought the TV shows not very good. I think Cheers was the only one I remember liking . Night Court and WKRP were okay but I have no desire to see them now

Television took a quantum leap in the 2000s with high quality cable shows. There were a few good shows here and there before then, but very rarely approaching the same quality. When you've spent enough time on Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc. most standard network television becomes painful to watch.

351
I'll get in trouble, but one show I always thought was a bit overpraised was "Taxi", which more or less introduced America to Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito and Andy Kaufman (who I also never really 'got' that much).

It was an okay show and could be funny sometimes. But some people talk about Taxi as if it were a complete game-changer for sitcoms, and I just don't see it.

359
Chi, "Wings" was ruined for me somewhat, when Steven Weber turned out to be a full-on humorless Stalinist.

I have much fonder memories of "Coach" with Craig T. Nelson, especially an episode where he and his girlfriend (played by Shelley Fabares) are about to get married, and *everything* goes wrong with her dress.

Posted by: qdpsteve at August 21, 2016 12:09 AM (OKox0)

360
Wings is one of my top five sitcoms ever but it was in the 90's along with News Radio.

Posted by: Joe Hallenbeck at August 21, 2016 12:10 AM (MNgU2)

361
Hide me! The phone cops are hot on my tail. And you know they don't need no stinking badges.

Posted by: Dr. Johnny Fever at August 21, 2016 12:11 AM (DW+jj)

362
Don't know if these count in the video game stats since I didn't have to go out and spend quarters in an arcade, but Myst and Leisure-Suit Larry were also favorites of mine.

Yes I did. Last October the 1st. We married in Boone NC and drove the Blue Ridge Parkway for our honeymoon.You may recall there was a hurricane that was raging against the dying of the light in the Blue Ridge about that time.For our anniversary we're planning on driving NC12, the coast road.Yes, we do like to tempt fate.

Lots of alpine skiing on 200 to 210mm - before the shorter shaped skis came into vogue in the 90s

Road Warrior was amazing

Music was a great improvement on the 70s. Still love lots of it, New Wave and Aussie bands of that era especially.

Reagan - didn't appreciate him nearly as much then as I have since then

You could still feel the joy of being led by men and women who had survived the Great Depression and WWII. Like my dad.

Miss that era. Wish my kids could have known it

Posted by: Grumpy old man at August 21, 2016 12:15 AM (NPLj5)

368
352: Dead or Alives lead singer was weird looking the - now he's an absolute freak because he's had so much plastic surgery. Grotesquely enlarged lips - there's a video about him on You Tube. he doesn't look human anymore.

But You Spin Me Round was a good song.

So was Twillight Zone by Golden Earring and Der Kommissar by After the Fire. Liked those videos too.

383And Vuarnet sunglasses.
Posted by: Grumpy old man
-----------------
Do you know how many of those are on the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay? Those & Revos. Expensive shit...
I could've bought a car for the money I spent on sunglasses.

402
LOL, I just remembered a blind date I had with a guy who, when he was taking me home, blared that Sex song on the.cassette player. Remember "I'm a hooker/virgin/boy/your mother" with the dude in the background saying "I'm a man" over and over again?My date was clearly hinting- but it didnt work.

403
Well, they No Awarded the only category I cared the slightest about. Assholes. I thought I was done with caring about this stuff last year but now I'd be perfectly happy to see the organization collapse and for there to stop being WorldCons.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 21, 2016 12:36 AM (IdCqF)

404
I just stumbled across this: Jack Riley, who played Mr. Carlin on The Bob Newhart show. He was 80, and according the story, his wife said it was pneumonia and another infection.

410Well, they No Awarded the only category I cared the
slightest about. Assholes. I thought I was done with caring about this
stuff last year but now I'd be perfectly happy to see the organization
collapse and for there to stop being WorldCons.Posted by: Epobirs at August 21, 2016 12:36 AM (IdCqF)

please unpack this a bit, please?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 21, 2016 12:39 AM (ry34m)

411
I meant to say Jack Riley died, but somehow forget to put at the end of the first sentence.

Short category editor. Jerry Pournelle was nominated for the new volume of 'There Will Be War.' He really should have been nominated back in the 80s when the early volumes were published but there wasn't such a category then.

You can bet the SJWs already hated Jerry and since Vox Day was behind getting the new volume together they no doubt did this out of sheer spite to an elderly man who has done more for the field than any of those fools. Not just as a writer. When Jerry ran SFWA the organization got serious about protecting the interests of the writers.

455
Magnum P.I.
A-team
And the movies...Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Lost Boys, etc.
Lots of good heavy metal hair bands and remember Madonna is from the eighties. Depeche Mode has played at ACL recently!

I graduated HS in the late eighties. I saw my class picture recently, it was a panorama, about 2 feet long, there were 900 in my class. It was very distinctly '80's. Polo shirts with collars up for boys, huge hair for girls.
I had big hair, shoulder pads, skinny skirts, and big wide belts. Guess jeans that were skin tight, so tight that they had zippers at the ankle to get your foot through in the days before denim contained elastic.
There are also things I'd like to forget about the '80's..........

459
Magnum P.I.
A-team
And the movies...Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Lost Boys, etc.
Lots of good heavy metal hair bands and remember Madonna is from the eighties. Depeche Mode has played at ACL recently!

I graduated HS in the late eighties. I saw my class picture recently, it was a panorama, about 2 feet long, there were 900 in my class. It was very distinctly '80's. Polo shirts with collars up for boys, huge hair for girls.
I had big hair, shoulder pads, skinny skirts, and big wide belts. Guess jeans that were skin tight, so tight that they had zippers at the ankle to get your foot through in the days before denim contained elastic.
There are also things I'd like to forget about the '80's..........

Posted by: lindafell de spair
****

You aren't that much older than me, and I remember all of that. I even had a pair of parachute pants.

461
>>It was very distinctly '80's. Polo shirts with collars up for boys, huge hair for girls.
I had big hair, shoulder pads, skinny skirts, and big wide belts. Guess jeans that were skin tight, so tight that they had zippers at the ankle to get your foot through

I have this occasional job at some "entertainment venues." They have now put in place super stringent security and are now wanding, pat downs and doing full bag searches of ALL employees. FYI, there has been no incident to cause this, it just suddenly happened this week. Even though the concert season is almost over.

Question: Does treating employees like criminals actually turn them into criminals?

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:09 AM (tvyXw)

481
There was a game, I think called OffRoad Racing, that lets you play again if you win, and gave you lots of play on one quarter.

Posted by: MikeN at August 21, 2016 01:21 AM (o/eHL)

482
Depends on the entertainment venues Shibumi. They may be concerned about sudden splodey ethnic Lutherans.

We had the State Police to explain what to do in a mass shooting situation. It boils down to "be safe, but we are focused on shooting bad people" which infuriated the more statist-liberals in the office who were hoping for more intervention and roleplaying.

Everyone else started talking about letter openers and such.

Shibumi, there is a lot to be said for a handful of change and a spare set of mens' nylon dress socks.

we found a Russian Contract 1911 today, down in El Cajon... and a 03A3 in cherry shape for only $450.

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:23 AM (sUQ21)

485
It's not an Official Road Trip unless you drive straight through and listen to Little Feat's 'Roll Right Through the Night' as the sun comes up!
Posted by: garrett at August 21, 2016 12:48 AM (CH3GY)

*****

REOs "I'm on My Way" has to be factored in there somewhere.

Posted by: ManWithNoParty at August 21, 2016 01:23 AM (YLidQ)

486
OMG!! I just looked at those '80's hairdo's, lol!
I had that half up, high and mighty going on!!! I remember how long it use to take to get ready in the '80's with hair like that...hours!

Shibumi, there is a lot to be said for a handful of change and a spare set of mens' nylon dress socks.---a dry chemical fire extinguisher is a helluva impromptu weapon.

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:26 AM (sUQ21)

489Shibumi, there is a lot to be said for a handful of change and a spare set of mens' nylon dress socks.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 21, 2016 01:21 AM---

It is because of the promoter "Live Nation." And what happened in Florida.

However... none of the recent incidents at venues have included staff. It's always been random nut jobs. Plus, they do NOT subject the crew coming in with the talent to any security checks. And some of those people are genuinely scary.

We're required to carry 8" crescent wrenches at all times.

I suspect there have been some specific threats to Live Nation, and they are making the local people pay for it. Yet the backstage area is always filled with fans after the show who have not gone through any security.

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:27 AM (tvyXw)

492
Had a good day today. It was a hot one here. Moved 6 vehicles, and mowed the grass under them, and moved them back. Tractor FTW! Although the last of the six, I started it up and moved it under its own power, and even took it for a short spin up the road and back.

Took the trash to the dump, got some supplies in town, and came home to find a strange car in my driveway. Turned out to be a guy from the next town, looking for the upper parking brake brake cable for a '50 Studebaker Champion. "Yeah, I think I have one. Let's go look." Looked in the garage, none there. Looked in the big shop; took a box down off a high shelf. None in there. Went to the barn, and there it was, in the second box I checked. "But this one has a metal sleeve on the end, and there's none on mine." I looked, and sure enough, the metal sleeve from his old cable was still trapped in the bottom end of the handle assembly. It was the exact right part, and in perfect condition, too. I said, "Five dollars too much for you?" He gave me ten bucks, and said "this makes my day. I want to take the car to a family wedding in Red Deer tomorrow, and now I can do it!" So I got us a couple of beers, and he got the Cook's Tour of the car collection, and went home, pleased as can be.

and no import stamps on the Colt. barrel is apparently not original though. looks to be WW2 Colt. best part is, it was a random stop at an area FFL, after we did our GunBroker transfer at the chain store. i just happened to see it in the case while Resident Evil was doing the paperw*rk on the A3...

495
Also, it's not that there aren't defensive weapons available at work. There are TONS.

It's just that suddenly, one day, employees became criminals

We are now very close to being treated like airline passengers. Not employees. Potential criminals. And it's really insulting.

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:31 AM (tvyXw)

496
472 It was impossible to sneak up on anyone while wearing parachute pants.
Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale
-------------------
Heh.
Marlee Maitlin could probably feel the static charge in the air from 20 feet away...

498
Shibumi, you know this already, but threat assessment and planning in an organization that isn't actually doing what it is supposed to be doing is an art in determining what may go wrong, and then doing as little as possible that will affect anyone that you care about.Scapegoating and random assignment for profiling is just one of the many tools to prevent both your principals from being put under onerous restrictions, and ensure enough action to keep the retainer rolling in like clockwork.

I suspect there have been some specific threats to Live Nation, and they are making the local people pay for it. Yet the backstage area is always filled with fans after the show who have not gone through any security.

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:27 AM (tvyXw)

A twelve-inch Crescent wrench, with a loop of para cord through the hole on the end of the handle would make a fine club, and still be useful for wrenching. With the cord looped around your wrist, it's harder for your antagonist to take it away from you in a fight.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 21, 2016 01:34 AM (oqkO3)

500
DC fire extinguishers have a decent range, will instantaneously blind the recipient if you hit them in the face, and they will also have a hard time breathing for a bit, so you can brain them with the canister, then take their weapons.

of course, you to will have a bit of bother with the residual powder, but it's better than being shot full of holes.

and they are everywhere... even your boss can't complain of you keep a small one or two in your cube. (the smallest ones don't always w*rk, so have a couple handy.

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:34 AM (sUQ21)

501
We are now very close to being treated like airline passengers. Not employees. Potential criminals. And it's really insulting.

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:31 AM (tvyXw)

Security theater. So the management can be seen to be "doing something".

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 21, 2016 01:35 AM (oqkO3)

502
>>and they are everywhere... even your boss can't complain of you keep a small one or two in your cube. (the smallest ones don't always w*rk, so have a couple handy.

Paint a can of Bear Spray Red and keep it handy.

Posted by: garrett at August 21, 2016 01:37 AM (CH3GY)

503
i'll take pics when we get it home, and send them to CBD for a gun thread...

swearsies!

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:37 AM (sUQ21)

504
Paint a can of Bear Spray Red and keep it handy.---my bear spray was made by Dan Wesson...

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:40 AM (sUQ21)

505491. Given current demographic trends, die wacht am rhein might take on a whole new meaning.

Hmmm. Might have a point there. Maybe need to update the assumptions.

Posted by: Headless Body of Agnew at August 21, 2016 01:41 AM (FtrY1)

506
498 Shibumi, you know this already, but threat assessment and planning in an organization that isn't actually doing what it is supposed to be doing is an art in determining what may go wrong, and then doing as little as possible that will affect anyone that you care about.---

YES.

--

Security theater. So the management can be seen to be "doing something"

--

This is true as well.

I've been there for a really, really long time. It's a physical job, and it's taking a toll. I made an imaginary "I need to quit by this age" and that age came two years ago. So this is just another reminder that "you don't need to work in a place that treats you like a criminal." Plus, I got told to eff off by a new supervisor yesterday when I wouldn't quit what I was doing and move immediately because he told me to.

So yes, the time has come.

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:42 AM (tvyXw)

511
Don't think Myst was from the 80's. Maybe Leisure-Suit Larry. No way am i giving you mah jong or minesweeper.

Posted by: StrawMan

Perhaps my Memory Thingy needs recalibrated.

LL came out in 1987.

Mah Jong Solitaire in 1986.

I bought an IBM PS/2 in July 92 to take to law school and I think that had Minesweeper on it though I could be mistaken. I assume since the PS/2 first came out in 1987 that MS was in the first software bundle.

Myst is definitely from the 90s.

Funny how as you get older your brain mashes the decades into an increasingly difficult timeline to sort through.

Posted by: Sharkman at August 21, 2016 01:45 AM (P8jrK)

512
red, where in El Cajon did you find that 1911 and a steal on a Springfield?

Was just east of there today, a shootin' match, in which for the first time since I've had it I was able to shoot the 1911 reasonably well.

Last year was the first year that my freelance income exceeded my non-freelance income. Which is amazing, since I really, really LOVE my freelance work. And it's going OK, but it's kind of scary.

This job is the last vestige of my old life, and essentially I use it to defray my freelance stuff, which is all 1099. But it is now not fun any more, and every week I drive home thinking "I have to quit this job."

Plus there's the fact that there's a huge contrast between "you're a respected freelancer" to "you're a stupid wanna be criminal, bend over."

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:48 AM (tvyXw)

That was course in the ancient era of three TV networks, no internet, etc. I recall hearing about the result on the radio during the afternoon.

That evening I was going to watch the replay on TV with two friends. They didn't appear to know the result - I didn't tell them I did.

As we watched the game, I remember starting to wonder if it really were true, if I had heard correctly that Team USA had won. Towards the incredible, tense end, I was caught up in it as much as my friends - even though I "knew" we won the game. Cannot recall another experience like that.

Was very lucky to see Central Army (the core of the Soviet Olympic team) play twice, in '76 and '88. There'll never be anything like it in hockey ever again. The circles, the puck control, the discipline, the complete absence of dumb or low-percentage moves.

In the exhibition against the NHL team, the first 8 minutes of the second period passed without a whistle/stop in play. Hockey as it should be - non-stop action, end to end, no b.s. The crowd showed its actual hockey knowledge by spontaneously breaking into applause as the uninterrupted action just went on and on.

Posted by: rhomboid at August 21, 2016 01:53 AM (QDnY+)

522
That was the rumor about Milton Berle as well. The joke was he only pulled out enough to win any contest.

And when asked what his "measurement" was, he supposedly would say 8 inches.....from the floor.

nice folks: there was black lesbian couple in there, asking questions, and knowing little about firearms, other than what they've seen on TV.

the staff was *very* patient, and encouraged them to learn more, including "Women on Target", before they plopped down any $$$...

very professional and good ambassadors for the sport.

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 01:55 AM (sUQ21)

524
And when asked what his "measurement" was, he supposedly would say 8 inches.....from the floor.

hahahaha! Perfect answer!

Posted by: shibumi who now just wants to yell at stupid people at August 21, 2016 01:55 AM (tvyXw)

525
Well I know the fun stores out El Cajon way pretty well, but none of them are places that have ever been known for their C ampersand R or rare gun finds.

Probably not Hiram's, which was one store in the old days (liquor store on the left side, guns on the right) - now the gun part is small, in the back of the bldg. Think the son runs it now - and come to think of it, he *does* have some oddball and older stuff, or at least did the last time I was in there.

Posted by: rhomboid at August 21, 2016 01:57 AM (QDnY+)

526
i'll take pics when we get it home, and send them to CBD for a gun thread...

527
we stopped by Hiram's, but the owner is on vacation, and looking to sell the business... according to the guy at the liquor store.

among other things, he was apparently robbed earlier this year.

the guy at the store gave us a card for AO Sword, but they were already on the list, as we were headed there next. you have to examine every gun in the case, as there is no rhyme or reason to where things are placed: the Colt was mixed in with a bunch of 9mm's and just above some revolvers, all new.

531
Thanks, red - well have never been to AO Sword, but their rep is good. I had thought that, apart from their non-gun business, they were mostly known as a black plastic rifle shop.

Going to bed smarter tonight, as a friend likes to say.

And Jim - my "accurizing" approach is 1) work in/smoothe a trigger by shooting it a lot 2) fix myself (technique). Have not modified anything I own. But I also am strictly a "practical accuracy" sort - not groups, but consistent hits on man-sized or slightly smaller targets (steels, usually) with movement, multiple targets and "target management" stress, use of cover, awkward positions, etc. I am sure I'd be lousy at bullseye-type activities.

Last season, they got up to where The Day After played. Everyone was watching it, FBI guys, the spy family, the Commies. It brought home the impact the show had.

Besides Day After, that period had lots of Nuke War talk. Every newsmagazine cover had it. Worse than the 1960s, at times. That was when Milady and I decided there weren't gunna be no nuke war, really, and trusting in God we proceeded to joyously engage in creating a 2nd kid. Be careful what you ask for. We got twins.

====Yep. I turn 50 this year. I graduated in 1984, and the 1980s are still my favorite years. Got my first job, got married, had my first kid. Loved so much of the music and the movies.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread at August 21, 2016 02:10 AM (rJUlF)

537And Jim - my "accurizing" approach is 1) work in/smoothe a trigger by shooting it a lot 2) fix myself (technique). Have not modified anything I own. But I also am strictly a "practical accuracy" sort - not groups, but consistent hits on man-sized or slightly smaller targets (steels, usually) with movement, multiple targets and "target management" stress, use of cover, awkward positions, etc. I am sure I'd be lousy at bullseye-type activities.

Posted by: rhomboid at August 21, 2016 02:05 AM (QDnY+)

The reason I strive for quarter sized groups at seven yards with a pistol.

The reason I strive to hit 4 of 6 bowling pins at 100 yards with a 4" bbl. S&W revolver.

Is so that I can ping those man-sized steels at 15, 25, or 50 yards, faster than you can read this sentence.

542
Makes mental note not to piss off Jim...---makes mental note to engage Jim with the AR-30A1 (338 Lapua), the M-99 in 416 Barrett or the Steyr HS-460, since i don't have access to a TOW system w/ammo

I'm a big Eddie Rabbit fan. He was a great songwriter and performer, and I enjoy his more traditional country and his crossover tunes. "Suspicions" and "Rocky Mountain Music" are my two favorites from him.

Posted by: redc1c4
****
Annoying some English guys who originally weren't gun guys made such an incredible rifle.
I have seen two up close at a couple matches. The guys who knew what they were took pics.

---we bought a custom pallet rack to put inside the garage, so we could sort it all out...

now i just gotta finish the reloading table, the BBQ pagoda, clean up the fire wood pile, and then i'll be able to pull out the pallet it's all currently stacked on, so i can rearrange the cabinets, etc, so i can install the rack, but i'm thinking i should get the extra florescent lamps installed first...

this, and alcohol, is why no project ever gets finished around here.

Posted by: redc1c4 at August 21, 2016 03:16 AM (sUQ21)

573
add to all that that *someone* has been purchasing MOAR ammo to add to the pile, and the Steyr comes with it's own reloading gear to build rounds for it and the Barrett...

which reminds me: i gotta call the alarm company and upgrade our system and its coverage...

IIRC one of the conditions of the Iowa class battleships is they have to be maintained in a restorable condition, but I could be wrong. (USS North Carolina has so many holes cut in her armor plating for the tourists to walk through, not to mention the cutout windows in her reduction gearing, that it would take way too much effort to put her back to sea.)

---
we bought a custom pallet rack to put inside the garage, so we could sort it all out...

now i just gotta finish the reloading table, the BBQ pagoda, clean up the fire wood pile, and then i'll be able to pull out the pallet it's all currently stacked on, so i can rearrange the cabinets, etc, so i can install the rack, but i'm thinking i should get the extra florescent lamps installed first...

this, and alcohol, is why no project ever gets finished around here.

Posted by: redc1c4
****

The way stuff piles up on you, you'd almost think they were colluding to be a bigger problem.

582
-First car that I bought was an '89 CRX Turbo. Very fast.-Ruled at Berzerk. Loved all the Williams games. Best game that I sucked at was Sinistar. Bought a Williams compilation for PC years later and found out that in company Sinistar was known as Opie Star because the main character kept saying RUN COWARD!!! which sounded like Ron Howard.-Sported a mullet. Lost my virginity. Got a BJ on a second date. Must have worked.-Drank 2 liter bottles of wine coolers fortified with vodka. First alcohol I bought, at 16, was Old English 800. Have tried it since and I can't believe I could drink 2 of them and still function.-Owned an Atari 800 and did some programming. Bought a game tutorial out of the Atari magazine and learned some neat graphics stuff but eventually got bored waiting for the cassette tape drive to save and download.

Dave, thanks for the walk down memory lane. My nick comes from my first internet computer...a 486 on dialup. I used to go to the computer after dinner and start loading a webpage, then back out to the kitchen. By the time I had the kitchen cleaned up the page was loaded.

585
Some German website posted a list of Olympic medals aggregating all of the European countries with a "European Union" total. The Brits are pissed, since they outperformed all the other countries.

https://tinyurl.com/zfa6sm8

Posted by: rickl at August 21, 2016 05:07 AM (sdi6R)

586
There will be a total eclipse of the sun visible in the U.S. exactly one year from today. Last one here was 38 years ago.

More info at GreatAmericanEclipse(dot)com

Posted by: IrishEi at August 21, 2016 05:28 AM (LhDi1)

587Some German website posted a list of Olympic medals aggregating all of the European countries with a "European Union" total.

LOL. What a friggin joke. The EU should have been forced to participate as one "country". The difference, of course, is that a country is limited to the number of athletes they can bring or have in any competition, so the number of EU medals would be way, way down. The US girls gymnasts were the top three in the all-around preliminary but since every country is only allowed two competitors in the all-around final Gabby Douglas was kicked out. The EU enters as 30 different countries (or whatever the hell it is) so they just blow right past all these limits. It would make estimations of "EU medals" totally ridiculous ... but, then again, this is eurotrash we're talking about.

The Brits are pissed, since they outperformed all the other countries.

https://tinyurl.com/zfa6sm8

Posted by: rickl at August 21, 2016 05:07 AM (sdi6R)

Then the Brits ought to start their formal exit procedure. OTherwise, they are still part of the same eurotrash that likes to make silly claims about "EU medals" that have no basis in reality.

590
I just looked at a blog where I was a regular commenter for 10 years. I will be polite and not name it. The whole place has gone stark raving mad since Trump came along. Commenters are openly comparing him to Hitler and his supporters to Nazis. They allow that Hillary will be a terrible president, but Trump must be stopped at all costs.

I just backed slowly away and closed the tab.

Posted by: rickl at August 21, 2016 05:47 AM (sdi6R)

591
Raining in ETEX this morning. I remember the 80's fondly. Began them working for ATT and ended them working for USN (again). Some good music, lots of traveling, and an inordinate amount of misconduct. Well, butter coffee taken aboard, vitamins and supplements consumed, Mrs. E kissed, and off to work!

605
You missed the 16V turbo Saab 900-3. A three door sedan--that had a hatch and folding rear seats. You could stuff an ungodly amount of stuff in the back. The Turbo 4 put out 160 horsepower. Not much in the way of turbo lag, and when you put your foot in it, every one of those ponies showed up for work. Otherwise it was a nice compact two door sedan with good fuel economy around town. Five speed transmission--manual of course. Put 250,000 miles on the car before I gave it to my daughter who drove it for several more years. By then the odometer was broken so who knows how many miles were on it. Had a good independent Saab mechanic who was as invested in keeping the car running as I was.

Posted by: Ram A Lam A Ding Dong at August 21, 2016 10:29 AM (Sda6L)

606
I was going through some old beta tapes recently. I remember my hair as relatively subdued, as for much of the period I favored a blown out face framing mid- length turned under pageboy with bangs. I did start to grow them out by the mid to late 8os.

Sure enough though, the old Betamax revealed the floof - which by period standards was tame, but still hilariously voluminous by the standards of almost any other time.

Posted by: Sarahw at August 21, 2016 06:49 PM (Sp1NT)

607
Boyfriend, now spouse, had a saab 900 something. We drove the long straightaway from Richmond to Charlottesville and the mountains with "Autobahn" in the tape deck.

Posted by: Sarahw at August 21, 2016 06:54 PM (Sp1NT)

608
Galaxian and Galaga. I got the "pattern" for Pac-Man out of a book and it was fun for a while but it soon ruined it for me.